A PJO Tale
by Suki-Alanna
Summary: Fairy tales using the PJO gang. :- Not all of them are the Disneyafied version, so they may differ from what you're used to. Char-death
1. Annabeth of Chase

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, Coca-Cola or Snow White.**

**AN: I see all these Cinderella ones, but they're the only fairy tales you see, so I decided to add this to the mix.**

Once upon a time in a great castle, a King's daughter grew up happy and contented, in spite of a jealous stepmother. She was very pretty, with grey eyes and long blond princess curls. Her skin was tanned, and so she was called by her name, Annabeth of Chase. Everyone was quite sure she would become very beautiful. Though her stepmother was a wicked woman, she too was very beautiful, and the magic mirror told her this every day, whenever she asked it.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the loveliest lady in the land?" The reply was always; "You are, your Majesty," until the dreadful day when she heard it say, "Annabeth of Chase is the loveliest in the land." The stepmother was furious and, wild with jealousy, began plotting to get rid of her rival. Calling one of her trusty servants, she bribed him with a rich reward to take Annabeth into the forest, far away from the Castle. Then, unseen, he was to put her to death. The greedy servant, attracted to the reward, agreed to do this deed, and he led the innocent little girl away. However, when they came to the fatal spot, the man's courage failed him and, leaving Annabeth sitting beside a tree, he mumbled an excuse and ran off. Annabeth was all alone in the forest.

Night came, but the servant did not return. Annabeth, alone in the dark forest, began to plot bitterly. She thought she could feel terrible eyes spying on her, and she heard strange sounds and rustlings that made her heart thump. At last, overcome by tiredness, she fell asleep curled under a tree.

Annabeth slept fitfully, wakening from time to time with a start and staring into the darkness round her. Several times, she thought she felt something, or somebody touch her as she slept.

At last, dawn woke the forest to the song of the birds, and Annabeth too, awoke. A whole world was stirring to life and the young woman was glad to see how silly her fears had been. However, the thick trees were like a wall round her, and as she tried to find out where she was, she came upon a path. She walked along it, hopefully. On she walked till she came to a clearing. There stood a strange cottage, with a tiny door, tiny windows and a tiny chimney pot. Everything about the cottage was much tinier than it ought to be. Annabeth pushed the door open.

"l wonder who lives here?" she said to herself, peeping round the kitchen. "What tiny plates! And spoons! There must be seven of them, the table's laid for seven people." Upstairs was a bedroom with seven neat little beds. Going back to the kitchen, Annabeth had an idea.

"I'll make them something to eat. When they come home, they'll be glad to find a meal ready." Towards dusk, eleven tiny people marched homewards singing. But when they opened the door, to their surprise they found a bowl of hot steaming soup on the table, and the whole house spick and span. Upstairs was Annabeth, fast asleep on one of the beds. The chief dwarf, Thalia, prodded her gently.

"Who are you?" he asked. Annabeth told them her sad story, and tears sprang to the dwarfs' eyes. Then one of them said, as he noisily blew his nose:

"Stay here with us!"

"Hooray! Hooray!" they cheered, dancing joyfully round the little girl. The dwarfs said to Annabeth:

"You can live here and tend to the house while we're down the Coca-Cola factory. Don't worry about your stepmother leaving you in the forest. We love you and we'll take care of you!" Annabeth gratefully accepted their hospitality, and next morning the dwarfs set off for work. But they warned Annabeth not to open the door to strangers.

Meanwhile, the servant had returned to the castle, with the heart of a roe deer. He gave it to the cruel stepmother, telling her it belonged to Annabeth, so that he could claim the reward. Highly pleased, the stepmother turned again to the magic mirror. But her hopes were dashed, for the mirror replied: "The loveliest in the land is still Annabeth Chase, who lives in the eleven dwarfs' cottage, down in the forest." The stepmother was beside herself with rage.

"She must die! She must die!" she screamed. Disguising herself as an old peasant woman, she put a poisoned apple with the others in her basket. Then, taking the quickest way into the forest, she crossed the swamp at the edge of the trees. She reached the bank unseen, just as Annabeth stood waving goodbye to the eleven dwarfs on their way to the Coca-Cola factory.

Annabeth was in the kitchen when she heard the sound at the door: KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Who's there?" she called suspiciously, remembering the dwarfs advice.

"I'm an old peasant woman selling apples," came the reply.

"I don't need any apples, thank you," she replied.

"But they are beautiful apples and ever so juicy!" said the velvety voice from outside the door.

"I'm not supposed to open the door to anyone," said the young woman, who was reluctant to disobey her friends.

"And quite right too! Good girl! If you promised not to open up to strangers, then of course you can't buy. You are a good girl indeed!" Then the old woman went on.

"And as a reward for being good, I'm going to make you a gift of one of my apples!" Without a further thought, Annabeth opened the door just a tiny crack, to take the apple. Then she thought…"Wait a minute. I'm not some stupid brainless mind-washed girl who will open the door, take the apple, find out its poisoned and die."

"There! Now isn't that a nice apple?" Annabeth pretended to eat the apple, but instead threw it in the garbage disposal and pretended to faint.

Now chuckling evilly, the wicked stepmother hurried off. But as she ran back across the swamp, she tripped and fell into the quicksand. No one heard her cries for help, and she disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, the dwarfs came out of the Coca-Cola factory to find the sky had grown dark and stormy. Loud thunder echoed through the valleys and streaks of lightning ripped the sky. Worried about Annabeth they ran as quickly as they could down the mountain to the cottage.

There they found Annabeth, lying still and lifeless, bashed on the head by a beam. They did their best to bring her around, but it was no use.

They wept and wept for a long time. Then they laid her on a bed of rose petals, carried her into the forest and put her in a crystal coffin.

Each day they laid a flower there.

Then one evening, they discovered a strange young man admiring Anabeth's lovely face through the glass. After listening to the story, the Prince (for he was a prince!) made a suggestion.

"If you allow me to take her to the Castle, I'll call in famous doctors to waken her from this peculiar sleep. She's so lovely . . . I'd love to kiss her. . . !" He did, and as though by magic, the Prince Percy's kiss broke the spell. To everyone's astonishment, Annabeth opened her eyes. She had amazingly come back to life! Now in love, the Prince asked Annabeth to marry him, and the dwarfs reluctantly had to say good bye to Annabeth.

From that day on, Annabeth lived happily in a great castle. But from time to time, she was drawn back to visit the little cottage down in the forest.

Cast:

Smart Snow White: Annabeth Chase

Prince: Percy Jackson

Dwarves: Thalia Grace, Nico di Angelo, Grover Underwood, Clarisse La Rue, Silena Beauregard, Charlie Beckendorf, Travis Stoll, Conner Stoll, Katie Gardner, and Malcolm.

King: Mr. Chase

Annabeth's Mother: Athena

Wicked Step-mother: Mrs. Chase

Narrator: Suki-Alanna :-)

**A quick note: I know this isn't the version you may be used too, it's the original, not the Disneyafied.**


	2. Little RED Sheath

**I don't own PJO.**

**AN: The credit for the idea for this chapter goes to C-Nuggets N.L. Thanks!**

Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl. Everyone who saw her liked her, but most of all her grandfather Apollo, who did not know what to give the child next. Once he gave her a little sword sheath made of red velvet. Because it suited her so well, and she wanted to wear it all the time, she came to be known as Little R.E.D. Sheath.

One day her mother said to her, "Come Little R.E.D. Sheath. Here is a piece of ambrosia and a bottle of nectar. Take them to your grandfather Apollo. He is bored, and they will do him well. Mind your manners and give him my greetings. Behave yourself on the way, and do not leave the path, or you might fall down and break the glass, and then there will be nothing for your bored grandfather Apollo."

Little R.E.D. Sheath promised to obey her mother. Grandfather Apollo lived out in the woods, a half hour from the village. When Little R.E.D. Sheath entered the woods a wolf named Zeus came up to her. She did not know what a wicked animal he was, and was not afraid of him.

"Good day to you, Little R.E.D Sheath."

"Thank you, wolf."

"Where are you going so early, Little R.E.D. Sheath?"

"To Grandfather Apollo's."

"And what are you carrying under your apron?"

"Grandfather Apollo is bored, and I am taking him some ambrosia and nectar. We shopped yesterday, and they should give her strength."

"Little R.E.D. Sheath, just where does your grandfather live?"

"His house is a good quarter hour from here in the woods, under the three large oak trees. There's a hedge of hazel bushes there. You must know the place," said Little R.E.D Sheath.

The wolf thought to himself, "Now there is a tasty bite for me. Just how are you going to catch her?" Then he said, "Listen, Little R.E.D. Sheath, haven't you seen the beautiful flowers that are blossoming in the woods? Why don't you go and take a look? And I don't believe you can hear how beautifully the birds are singing. You are walking along as though you were on your way to school in the village. It is very beautiful in the woods."

Little R.E.D. Sheath opened her eyes and saw the sunlight breaking through the trees and how the ground was covered with beautiful flowers. She thought, "If a take a bouquet to grandfather, he can give them to his new lady, and then he will be very pleased. Anyway, it is still early, and I'll be home on time." And she ran off into the woods looking for flowers. Each time she picked one she thought that she could see an even more beautiful one a little way off, and she ran after it, going further and further into the woods. But the wolf ran straight to the grandfather's house and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Little R.E.D. Sheath. I'm bringing you some ambrosia and nectar. Open the door for me."

"Just press the latch," called out the grandfather. "I'm too busy being bored to get up."

The wolf pressed the latch, and the door opened. He stepped inside, went straight to the grandfather's bed, and ate him up in all of his lounging. Then he took his clothes, put them on, and put his cap on his head. He got into his couch and pulled the blanket up.

Little R.E.D Sheath had run after flowers, and did not continue on her way to grandfather's until she had gathered all that she could carry. When she arrived, she found, to her surprise, that the door was open. She walked into the parlor, and everything looked so strange that she thought, "Oh, my God, why am I so afraid? I usually like it at Grandfather Apollo's." Then she went to the bed and pulled back the curtains. Grandfather was lying there with his cap pulled down over his face and looking very strange.

"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, what big ears you have!"

"All the better to hear you with."

"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see you with."

"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, what small hands you have! I could have sworn they were twice that size!"

"All the better to…er…play piano with?"

"Oh, Grandfather Apollo, you hate piano! And what a horribly big mouth you have!"

"All the better to eat you with!" And with that he jumped out of bed, jumped on top of poor Little R.E.D Sheath, and ate her up. As soon as the wolf had finished this tasty bite, he climbed back into bed, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly.

Artemis, who was Apollo's sister and thus Little R.E.D Sheath's great-aunt, was just passing by. She thought it strange that her brother was snoring so softly, so he decided to take a look. She stepped inside, and in the bed there lay the wolf that he had been hunting for such a long time. "He has eaten my brother, but perhaps he still can be saved. I won't shoot him," thought the huntsman. So she took a pair of scissors and cut open his belly.

She had cut only a few strokes when he saw the red sheath shining through. He cut a little more, and the girl jumped out and cried, "Oh, I was so frightened! It was so dark inside the wolf's body!"

And then the grandmother came out alive as well. Then Little R.E.D Sheath fetched some large heavy stones. They filled the wolf's body with them, and when he woke up and tried to run away, the stones were so heavy that he fell down dead.

The three of them were happy. The huntswoman took the wolf's pelt. The grandfather ate the ambrosia and drank the nectar that Little R.E.D Sheath had brought. And Little R.E.D. Sheath thought to herself, "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to."

_Huntswoman Artemis was greatly loved by those who saw the body of the wolf, and Grandfather Apollo had no lasting effects. Little R.E.D. Sheath became a huntswoman like Artemis and was called "R.E.D. with a Sheath that now Contains a Sword that Really Really Hurts." Or R.E.D. Sheath for short._

_**Cast:**_

_**Little R.E.D. Sheath-Rachel Elizabeth Dare**_

_**Grandfather Apollo-Apollo**_

_**Wolf-Zeus**_

_**Huntswoman-Lady Artemis**_

**Well, there's another one done. Thanks again to C-Nuggets N.L and anyone else who reviewed. Next may be Hansel and Gretel, as suggested by alex jones. Thanks!**


	3. Annabeth and Leo

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**AN: This was suggested by alex jones, but I changed Hansel from Percy to Leo, because I don't want Percy "crying bitterly". Enjoy!**

Next to a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and his two children. The boy's name was Leo and the girl's name was Annabeth. He had but little to eat, and once, when a great famine came to the land, he could no longer provide even their daily bread.

One evening as he was lying in bed worrying about his problems, he sighed and said to his wife, "What is to become of us? How can we feed our children when we have nothing for ourselves?"

"Man, do you know what?" answered the woman. "Early tomorrow morning we will take the two children out into the thickest part of the woods, make a fire for them, and give each of them a little piece of bread, then leave them by themselves and go off to our work. They will not find their way back home, and we will be rid of them."

"No, woman," said the man. "I will not do that. How could I bring myself to abandon my own children alone in the woods? Wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces."

"Oh, you fool," she said, "then all four of us will starve. All you can do is to plane the boards for our coffins." And she gave him no peace until he agreed.

"But I do feel sorry for the poor children," said the man.

The two children had not been able to fall asleep because of their hunger, and they heard what the stepmother had said to the father.

Leo cried bitter tears and said to Annabeth, "It is over with us!"

"Be quiet, Leo," Annabeth said, "and don't worry. I know what to do."

And as soon as the adults had fallen asleep, she got up, pulled on his jacket, opened the lower door, and crept outside. The moon was shining brightly, and the white pebbles in front of the house were glistening like silver coins. Annabeth bent over and filled her apron pocket as many of them as would fit.

Then she went back into the house and said, "Don't worry, Leo. Sleep well. Athena will not forsake us." Then she went back to bed.

At daybreak, even before sunrise, the woman came and woke the two children. "Get up, you lazybones. We are going into the woods to fetch wood." Then she gave each one a little piece of bread, saying, "Here is something for midday. Don't eat it any sooner, for you'll not get any more."

Leo put the bread in his pockets, because Annabeth's pocket was full of stones. Then all together they set forth into the woods. After they had walked a little way, Annabeth began stopping again and again and looking back toward the house.

The father said, "Annabeth, why are you stopping and looking back? Pay attention now, and don't forget your legs."

"Oh, father," Annabeth said, "I am looking at my white owl that is sitting on the roof and wants to say good-bye to me."

The woman said, "You fool, that isn't your owl. That's the morning sun shining on the chimney."

However, Annabeth had not been looking at her owl but instead had been dropping the shiny pebbles from her pocket onto the path.

When they arrived in the middle of the woods, the father said, "You children gather some wood, and I will make a fire so you won't freeze."

Leo and Annabeth gathered together some twigs, a pile as high as a small mountain

The twigs were set afire, and when the flames were burning well, the woman said, "Lie down by the fire and rest. We will go into the woods to cut wood. When we are finished, we will come back and get you."

Leo and Annabeth sat by the fire. When midday came each one ate his little piece of bread. Because they could hear the blows of an ax, they thought that the father was nearby. However, it was not an ax. It was a branch that he had tied to a dead tree and that the wind was beating back and forth. After they had sat there a long time, their eyes grew weary and closed, and they fell sound sleep.

When they finally awoke, it was dark at night. Leo began to cry and said, "How will we get out of woods?"

Annabeth comforted him, "Wait a little until the moon comes up, and then we'll find the way."

After the full moon had come up, Annabeth took her little brother by the hand. They followed the pebbles that glistened there like newly minted coins, showing them the way. They walked throughout the entire night, and as morning was breaking, they arrived at the father's house.

They knocked on the door, and when the woman opened it and saw that it was Leo and Annabeth, she said, "You wicked children, why did you sleep so long in the woods? We thought that you did not want to come back."

But the father was overjoyed when he saw his children once more, for he had not wanted to leave them alone.

Not long afterward there was once again great need everywhere, and one evening the children heard the mother say to the father, "We have again eaten up everything. We have only a half loaf of bread, and then the song will be over. We must get rid of the children. We will take them deeper into the woods, so they will not find their way out. Otherwise there will be no help for us."

The man was very disheartened, and he thought, "It would be better to share the last bit with the children."

But the woman would not listen to him, scolded him, and criticized him. Because he had given in the first time, he had to do so the second time as well.

The children were still awake and had overheard the conversation. When the adults were asleep, Annabeth got up again and wanted to gather pebbles as she had done before, but the woman had locked the door, and Annabeth could not get out. But she comforted her little brother and said, "Don't cry, Leo. Sleep well. Athena will help us."

Early the next morning the woman came and got the children from their beds. They received their little pieces of bread, even less than the last time. On the way to the woods, Annabeth crumbled her piece in his pocket, then often stood still, and threw crumbs onto the ground.

"Annabeth, why are you always stopping and looking around?" asked her father. "Keep walking straight ahead."

"I can see my donkey sitting on the roof. It wants to say good-bye to me."

"Fool," said the woman, "that isn't your donkey. That's the morning sun shining on the chimney."

"I like how she didn't comment on the fact that I don't own a donkey, and, if I did, it wouldn't be able to get on the roof in the first place," Annabeth whispered to Leo.

But little by little Annabeth dropped all the crumbs onto the path. The woman took them deeper into the woods than they had ever been in their whole lifetime.

Once again a large fire was made, and the step-mother said, "Sit here, children. If you get tired you can sleep a little. We are going into the woods to cut wood. We will come and get you in the evening when we are finished."

When it was midday Leo shared his bread with Annabeth, who had scattered her piece along the path. Then they fell asleep, and evening passed, but no one came to get the poor children.

It was dark at night when they awoke, and Annabeth comforted Leo and said, "Wait, when the moon comes up I will be able to see the crumbs of bread that I scattered, and they will show us the way back home."

When the moon appeared they got up, but they could not find any crumbs, for the many thousands of birds that fly about in the woods and in the fields had pecked them up.

Annabeth told Leo, "We will find our way," but they did not find it.

They walked through the entire night and the next day from morning until evening, but they did not find their way out of the woods. They were terribly hungry, for they had eaten only a few small berries that were growing on the ground. And because they were so tired that their legs would no longer carry them, they lay down under a tree and fell asleep. It was already the third morning since they had left the father's house. They started walking again, but managed only to go deeper and deeper into the woods. If help did not come soon, they would perish. At midday they saw a little snow-white bird sitting on a branch. It sang so beautifully that they stopped to listen. When it was finished it stretched its wings and flew in front of them. They followed it until they came to a little house. The bird sat on the roof, and when they came closer, they saw that the little house was built entirely from bread with a roof made of cake, and the windows were made of clear sugar.

"Let's help ourselves to a good meal," Annabeth said.. "I'll eat a piece of the roof, and Leo, you eat from the window. That will be sweet."

Annabeth reached up and broke off a little of the roof to see how it tasted, while Leo stood next to the windowpanes and was nibbling at them. Then a gentle voice called out from inside:

"Nibble, nibble, little mouse. Who is nibbling at my house?" the old witch asked.

The children answered, "the wind, the wind, the heavenly child." _What the crap is that supposed to mean? These brothers Grimm guys are weird._

They continued to eat, without being distracted. Annabeth, who very much like the taste of the roof, tore down another large piece, and Leo poked out an entire round windowpane. Suddenly the door opened, and a woman, as old as the hills and leaning on a crutch, came creeping out. Annabeth and Leo were so frightened that they dropped what they were holding in their hands.

But the old woman shook her head and said, "Oh, you dear children, who brought you here? Just come in and stay with me. No harm will come to you."

She took them by the hand and led them into her house. Then she served them a good meal: milk and pancakes with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterward she made two nice beds for them, decked in white. Annabeth and Leo went to bed, thinking they were in heaven. But the old woman had only pretended to be friendly. She was a wicked witch who was lying in wait there for children. She had built her house of bread only in order to lure them to her, and if she captured one, she would kill him, cook him, and eat him; and for her that was a day to celebrate.

Witches have red eyes and cannot see very far, but they have a sense of smell like animals, and know when humans are approaching.

When Annabeth and Leo came near to her, she laughed wickedly and spoke scornfully, "Now I have them. They will not get away from me again."

Early the next morning, before they awoke, she got up, went to their beds, and looked at the two of them lying there so peacefully, with their full red cheeks. "They will be a good mouthful," she mumbled to herself. Then she grabbed Leo with her withered hand and carried him to a little stall, where she locked him behind a cage door. Cry as he might, there was no help for him.

Then she shook Annabeth and cried, "Get up, lazybones! Fetch water and cook something good for your brother. He is locked outside in the stall and is to be fattened up. When he is fat I am going to eat him."

Annabeth began to cry, but it was all for nothing. She had to do what the witch demanded. Now Leo was given the best things to eat every day, but Annabeth received nothing but crayfish shells. _I'm sorry. I didn't want to make Annabeth cry, but it didn't make sense if Leo cried instead of her. So, sorry._

Every morning the old woman crept out to the stall and shouted, "Leo, stick out your finger, so I can feel if you are fat yet."

But Leo stuck out a little bone, and the old woman, who had bad eyes and could not see the bone, thought it was Leo's finger, and she wondered why he didn't get fat.

When four weeks had passed and Leo was still thin, impatience overcame her, and she would wait no longer. "Hey, Annabeth!" she shouted to the girl, "Hurry up and fetch some water. Whether Leo is fat or thin, tomorrow I am going to slaughter him and boil him."

Oh, how the poor little sister sobbed as she was forced to carry the water, and how the tears streamed down her cheeks! "Dear Athena, please help us," she cried. "If only the wild animals had devoured us in the woods, then we would have died together."

"Save your slobbering," said the old woman. "It doesn't help you at all."

The next morning Annabeth had to get up early, hang up the kettle with water, and make a fire.

"First we are going to bake," said the old woman. "I have already made a fire in the oven and kneaded the dough."

She pushed poor Annabeth outside to the oven, from which fiery flames were leaping. "Climb in," said the witch, "and see if it is hot enough to put the bread in yet." And when Annabeth was inside, she intended to close the oven, and bake her, and eat her as well.

But Annabeth saw what she had in mind, so she said, "I don't know how to do that. How can I get inside?"

"Stupid goose," said the old woman. The opening is big enough. See, I myself could get in." And she crawled up stuck her head into the oven.

Then Annabeth gave her a shove, causing her to fall in. Then she closed the iron door and secured it with a bar. The old woman began to howl frightfully. But Annabeth ran away, and the godless witch burned up miserably. Annabeth ran straight to Leo, unlocked his stall, and cried, "Leo, we are saved. The old witch is dead."

Then Leo jumped out, like a bird from its cage when someone opens its door. How happy they were! They threw their arms around each other's necks, jumped with joy, and kissed one another. Because they now had nothing to fear, they went into the witch's house. In every corner were chests of pearls and precious stones.

"These are better than pebbles," Annabeth said, filling her apron pocket.

Leo said, "I will take some home with me as well," and he filled his pockets.

"But now we must leave," Annabeth said, "and get out of these witch-woods."

After walking a few hours they arrived at a large body of water. "We cannot get across," Leo said. "I cannot see a walkway or a bridge."

"There are no boats here," answered Annabeth, "but there is a white duck swimming. If I ask it, it will help us across."

Then she called out:

Duckling, duckling,  
Here stand Annabeth and Leo.  
Neither a walkway nor a bridge,  
Take us onto your white back.

The duckling came up to them, and Annabeth climbed onto it, then asked her little brother to sit down next to her.

"No," answered Leo. "That would be too heavy for the duckling. It should take us across one at a time."

That is what the good animal did, and when they were safely on the other side, and had walked on a little while, the woods grew more and more familiar to them, and finally they saw the father's house in the distance. They began to run, rushed inside, and threw their arms around the father's neck.

The man had not had even one happy hour since he had left the children in the woods. However, the woman had died. Annabeth shook out her apron, scattering pearls and precious stones around the room, and Leo added to them by throwing one handful after the other from his pockets.

Now all their cares were at an end, and they lived happily together.

My tale is done,  
A mouse has run.

And whoever catches it can make for himself from it a large, large fur cap. _**As if.**_

_**The Cast:**_

_**Hansel/Gretel: Annabeth Chase**_

_**Gretel/Hansel: Leo Vasquez (Is that right? I don't have my book with me.)**_

_**The old-witch: Hades (Jkjk. I just didn't know who to do.)**_

_**Annabeth and Leo's father: Mr. Chase**_

_**Evil Step-mother: Mrs. Chase**_

_**Athena: Athena**_

_**The owl: Hedwig**_

_**The donkey: Asinus **_

_**Narrator: Suki-Alanna**_


	4. Cinderbeth

A rich man's wife became sick, and when she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, "Dear child, remain pious and good, and then our dear God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you." With this she closed her eyes and died.

The girl went out to her mother's grave every day and wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came the snow spread a white cloth over the grave, and when the spring sun had removed it again, the man took himself another wife.

This wife brought two daughters into the house with her. They were beautiful, with fair faces, but evil and dark hearts. Times soon grew very bad for the poor stepchild.

"Why should that stupid goose sit in the parlor with us?" they said. "If she wants to eat bread, then she will have to earn it. Out with this kitchen maid!"

They took her beautiful clothes away from her, dressed her in an old gray smock, and gave her wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess! How decked out she is!" they shouted and laughed as they led her into the kitchen.

There she had to do hard work from morning until evening, get up before daybreak, carry water, make the fires, cook, and wash. Besides this, the sisters did everything imaginable to hurt her. They made fun of her, scattered peas and lentils into the ashes for her, so that she had to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked herself weary, there was no bed for her. Instead she had to sleep by the hearth in the ashes. And because she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderbeth.

One day it happened that the father was going to the fair, and he asked his two stepdaughters what he should bring back for them.

"Beautiful dresses," said one.

"Pearls and jewels," said the other.

"And you, Cinderbeth," he said, "what do you want?"

"Father, break off for me the first twig that brushes against your hat on your way home."

So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls, and jewels for his two stepdaughters. On his way home, as he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the twig and took it with him. Arriving home, he gave his stepdaughters the things that they had asked for, and he gave Cinderbeth the twig from the hazel bush.

Cinderbeth thanked him, went to her mother's grave, and planted the branch on it, and she wept so much that her tears fell upon it and watered it. It grew and became a beautiful tree.

Cinderbeth went to this tree three times every day, and beneath it she wept and prayed. A white bird came to the tree every time, and whenever she expressed a wish, the bird would throw down to her what she had wished for.

Now it happened that the king proclaimed a festival that was to last three days. All the beautiful young girls in the land were invited, so that his son could select a bride for himself. When the two stepsisters heard that they too had been invited, they were in high spirits.

They called Cinderbeth, saying, "Comb our hair for us. Brush our shoes and fasten our buckles. We are going to the festival at the king's castle."

Cinderbeth obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to go to the dance with them. She begged her stepmother to allow her to go.

"You, Cinderbeth?" she said. "You, all covered with dust and dirt, and you want to go to the festival? You have neither clothes nor shoes, and yet you want to dance!"

However, because Cinderbeth kept asking, the stepmother finally said, "I have scattered a bowl of lentils into the ashes for you. If you can pick them out again in two hours, then you may go with us."

The girl went through the back door into the garden, and called out, "You tame pigeons, you turtledoves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to gather:

The good ones go into the pot,  
The bad ones go into your crop."

Two white pigeons came in through the kitchen window, and then the turtledoves, and finally all the birds beneath the sky came whirring and swarming in, and lit around the ashes. The pigeons nodded their heads and began to pick, pick, pick, pick. And the others also began to pick, pick, pick, pick. They gathered all the good grains into the bowl. Hardly one hour had passed before they were finished, and they all flew out again.

The girl took the bowl to her stepmother, and was happy, thinking that now she would be allowed to go to the festival with them.

But the stepmother said, "No, Cinderbeth, you have no clothes, and you don't know how to dance. Everyone would only laugh at you."

Cinderbeth began to cry, and then the stepmother said, "You may go if you are able to pick two bowls of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour," thinking to herself, "She will never be able to do that."

The girl went through the back door into the garden, and called out, "You tame pigeons, you turtledoves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to gather:

The good ones go into the pot,  
The bad ones go into your crop."

Two white pigeons came in through the kitchen window, and then the turtledoves, and finally all the birds beneath the sky came whirring and swarming in, and lit around the ashes. The pigeons nodded their heads and began to pick, pick, pick, pick. And the others also began to pick, pick, pick, pick. They gathered all the good grains into the bowls. Before a half hour had passed they were finished, and they all flew out again.

The girl took the bowls to her stepmother, and was happy, thinking that now she would be allowed to go to the festival with them.

But the stepmother said, "It's no use. You are not coming with us, for you have no clothes, and you don't know how to dance. We would be ashamed of you." With this she turned her back on Cinderbeth, and hurried away with her two proud daughters.

Now that no one else was at home, Cinderbeth went to her mother's grave beneath the hazel tree, and cried out:

Shake and quiver, little tree,  
Throw gold and silver down to me.

Then the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers embroidered with silk and silver. She quickly put on the dress and went to the festival.

Her stepsisters and her stepmother did not recognize her. They thought she must be a foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden dress. They never once thought it was Cinderbeth, for they thought that she was sitting at home in the dirt, looking for lentils in the ashes.

The prince approached her, took her by the hand, and danced with her. Furthermore, he would dance with no one else. He never let go of her hand, and whenever anyone else came and asked her to dance, he would say, "She is my dance partner."

She danced until evening, and then she wanted to go home. But the prince said, "I will go along and escort you," for he wanted to see to whom the beautiful girl belonged. However, she eluded him and jumped into the pigeon coop. The prince waited until her father came, and then he told him that the unknown girl had jumped into the pigeon coop.

The old man thought, "Could it be Cinderbeth?"

He had them bring him an ax and a pick so that he could break the pigeon coop apart, but no one was inside. When they got home Cinderbeth was lying in the ashes, dressed in her dirty clothes. A dim little oil-lamp was burning in the fireplace. Cinderbeth had quickly jumped down from the back of the pigeon coop and had run to the hazel tree. There she had taken off her beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken them away again. Then, dressed in her gray smock, she had returned to the ashes in the kitchen.

The next day when the festival began anew, and her parents and her stepsisters had gone again, Cinderbeth went to the hazel tree and said:

Shake and quiver, little tree,  
Throw gold and silver down to me.

Then the bird threw down an even more magnificent dress than on the preceding day. When Cinderbeth appeared at the festival in this dress, everyone was astonished at her beauty. The prince had waited until she came, then immediately took her by the hand, and danced only with her. When others came and asked her to dance with them, he said, "She is my dance partner."

When evening came she wanted to leave, and the prince followed her, wanting to see into which house she went. But she ran away from him and into the garden behind the house. A beautiful tall tree stood there, on which hung the most magnificent pears. She climbed as nimbly as a squirrel into the branches, and the prince did not know where she had gone. He waited until her father came, then said to him, "The unknown girl has eluded me, and I believe she has climbed up the pear tree.

The father thought, "Could it be Cinderbeth?" He had an ax brought to him and cut down the tree, but no one was in it. When they came to the kitchen, Cinderbeth was lying there in the ashes as usual, for she had jumped down from the other side of the tree, had taken the beautiful dress back to the bird in the hazel tree, and had put on her gray smock.

On the third day, when her parents and sisters had gone away, Cinderbeth went again to her mother's grave and said to the tree:

Shake and quiver, little tree,  
Throw gold and silver down to me.

This time the bird threw down to her a dress that was more splendid and magnificent than any she had yet had, and the slippers were of pure gold. When she arrived at the festival in this dress, everyone was so astonished that they did not know what to say. The prince danced only with her, and whenever anyone else asked her to dance, he would say, "She is my dance partner."

When evening came Cinderbeth wanted to leave, and the prince tried to escort her, but she ran away from him so quickly that he could not follow her. The prince, however, had set a trap. He had had the entire stairway smeared with pitch. When she ran down the stairs, her left slipper stuck in the pitch. The prince picked it up. It was small and dainty, and of pure gold.

The next morning, he went with it to the man, and said to him, "No one shall be my wife except for the one whose foot fits this golden shoe."

The two sisters were happy to hear this, for they had pretty feet. With her mother standing by, the older one took the shoe into her bedroom to try it on. She could not get her big toe into it, for the shoe was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife and said, "Cut off your toe. When you are queen you will no longer have to go on foot."

The girl cut off her toe, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the prince. He took her on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. However, they had to ride past the grave, and there, on the hazel tree, sat the two pigeons, crying out:

Rook di goo, rook di goo!  
There's blood in the shoe.  
The shoe is too tight,  
This bride is not right!

Then he looked at her foot and saw how the blood was running from it. He turned his horse around and took the false bride home again, saying that she was not the right one, and that the other sister should try on the shoe. She went into her bedroom, and got her toes into the shoe all right, but her heel was too large.

Then her mother gave her a knife, and said, "Cut a piece off your heel. When you are queen you will no longer have to go on foot."

The girl cut a piece off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the prince. He took her on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. When they passed the hazel tree, the two pigeons were sitting in it, and they cried out:

Rook di goo, rook di goo!  
There's blood in the shoe.  
The shoe is too tight,  
This bride is not right!

He looked down at her foot and saw how the blood was running out of her shoe, and how it had stained her white stocking all red. Then he turned his horse around and took the false bride home again.

"This is not the right one, either," he said. "Don't you have another daughter?"

"No," said the man. "There is only a deformed little Cinderbeth from my first wife, but she cannot possibly be the bride."

The prince told him to send her to him, but the mother answered, "Oh, no, she is much too dirty. She cannot be seen."

But the prince insisted on it, and they had to call Cinderbeth. She first washed her hands and face clean, and then went and bowed down before the prince, who gave her the golden shoe. She sat down on a stool, pulled her foot out of the heavy wooden shoe, and put it into the slipper, and it fit her perfectly.

When she stood up the prince looked into her face, and he recognized the beautiful girl who had danced with him. He cried out, "She is my true bride."

The stepmother and the two sisters were horrified and turned pale with anger. The prince, however, took Cinderbeth onto his horse and rode away with her. As they passed by the hazel tree, the two white pigeons cried out:

Rook di goo, rook di goo!  
No blood's in the shoe.  
The shoe's not too tight,  
This bride is right!

After they had cried this out, they both flew down and lit on Cinderbeth's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and remained sitting there.

When the wedding with the prince was to be held, the two false sisters came, wanting to gain favor with Cinderbeth and to share her good fortune. When the bridal couple walked into the church, the older sister walked on their right side and the younger on their left side, and the owls pecked out one eye from each of them. Afterwards, as they came out of the church, the older one was on the left side, and the younger one on the right side, and then the owls pecked out the other eye from each of them. And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness as long as they lived.

And thus Prince Percy and Princess Cinderbeth lived happily ever after.

_**The Cast:**_

_**Cinderbeth: Annabeth Chase**_

_**Prince Percy: Percy Jackson**_

_**First Step-sister: Rachel Elizabeth Dare**_

_**Second Step-sister: Silena Beauregard**_

_**Father: Mr. Chase**_

_**Wicked Step-mother: Mrs. Chase**_

_**Mother: Athena**_

_**The birds (In no particular order): Thalia Grace, Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Grover Underwood, Zoë Nightshade, Chiron, Mr. D., Artemis, and Apollo.**_

_**Narrator: Suki Alanna**_

_**Love ya guys! This is gonna be my last update for a while. Sorry!**_


	5. SnowWhite and RoseRED

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**AN: This idea was brought to you by **CrazyDyslexicNerd. **Thanks!**

THERE was once a poor widow who lived alone in her hut with her two children, who were called Snow-White and Rose-R.E.D., because they were like the flowers which bloomed on two rosebushes that grew before the cottage. But they were two as pious, good, industrious, and amiable children as any that were in the world, only Snow-White was more quiet and gentle than Rose-R.E.D.. For Rose-R.E.D. would run and jump about the meadows, seeking flowers and catching butterflies, while Snow-White sat at home helping her Mother to keep house, or reading to her if there were nothing else to do.

The two children loved one another dearly, and always walked hand in hand when they went out together; and ever when they talked of it they agreed that they would never separate from each other, and that whatever one had the other should share.

Often they ran deep into the forest and gathered wild berries; but no beast ever harmed them. For the hare would eat cauliflowers out of their hands, the fawn would graze at their side, the goats would frisk about them in play, and the birds remained perched on the boughs singing as if nobody were near. No accident ever befell them; and if they stayed late in the forest, and night came upon them, they used to lie down on the moss and sleep till morning; and because their mother knew they would do so, she felt no concern about them. One time when they had thus passed the night in the forest, and the dawn of morning awoke them, they saw a beautiful child dressed in shining white sitting near their couch. She got up and looked at them kindly, but without saying anything went into the forest; and when the children looked round they saw that where they had slept was close to the edge of a pit, into which they would have certainly fallen had they walked a couple of steps further in the dark. Their mother told them the figure they had seen was doubtless the good angel who watches over children.

Snow-White and Rose-R.E.D. kept their mother's cottage so clean that it was a pleasure to enter it. Every morning in the summer time Rose-R.E.D. would first put the house in order, and then gather a nosegay for her mother, in which she always placed a bud from each rose tree. Every winter's morning Snow-White would light the fire and put the kettle on to boil, and although the kettle was made of copper it yet shone like gold, because it was scoured so well. In the evenings, when the flakes of snow were falling, the mother would say, "Go, Snow-White, and bolt the door;" and then they used to sit down on the hearth, and the Mother would put on her spectacles and read out of a great book while her children sat spinning. By their side, too, laid a little lamb, and on a perch behind them a little white dove reposed with her head under her wing.

One evening, when they were thus sitting comfortably together, there came a knock at the door as if somebody wished to come in. "Make haste, Rose-R.E.D.," cried her Mother; "make haste and open the door; perhaps there is some traveler outside who needs shelter." So Rose-R.E.D. went and drew the bolt and opened the door, expecting to see some poor man outside, but instead, a great fat bear poked his black head in. Rose-R.E.D. shrieked out and ran back, the little lamb bleated, the dove fluttered on her perch, and Snow-White hid herself behind her Mother's bed.

The bear, however, began to speak, and said: "Be not afraid, I will do you no harm; but I am half frozen, and wish to come in and warm myself."

"Poor bear!" cried the mother; "come in and lie down before the fire; but take care you do not burn your skin;" and then she continued: "Come here, Rose-R.E.D. and Snow-White, the Bear will not harm you, he means honorably." So they both came back, and by degrees the lamb too and the dove overcame their fears and welcomed the rough visitor.

"You children!" said the bear, before he entered, "come and knock the snow off my coat." And they fetched their brooms and swept him clean. Then he stretched himself before the fire and grumbled out his satisfaction; and in a little while the children became familiar enough to play tricks with the unwieldy animal. They pulled his long, shaggy skin, set their feet upon his back and rolled him to and fro, and even ventured to beat him with a hazel stick, laughing when he grumbled. The bear bore all their tricks good temperedly, and if they hit him too hard he cried out:

"Leave me my life, you children, Snow-White and Rose-R.E.D., Or you'll never wed."

When bedtime came and the others were gone, the mother said to the bear: "You may sleep here on the hearth if you like, and then you will be safely protected from the cold and bad weather."

As soon as day broke the two children let the bear out again, and he trotted away over the snow, and ever afterward he came every evening at a certain hour. He would lie down on the hearth and allow the children to play with him as much as they liked, till by degrees they became so accustomed to him that the door was left unbolted till their black friend arrived.

But as soon as spring returned, and everything out of doors was green again, the bear one morning told Snow-White that he must leave her, and could not return during the whole summer. "Where are you going, then, dear Bear?" asked Snow-White, "I am obliged to go into the forest and guard my treasures from the evil Dwarfs; for in winter, when the ground is hard, they are obliged to keep in their holes, and cannot work through; but now, since the sun has thawed the earth and warmed it, the Dwarf's pierce through, and steal all they can find; and what has once passed into their hands, and gets concealed by them in their caves, is not easily brought to light." Snow-White, however, was very sad at the departure of Bear, and opened the door so hesitatingly that when he pressed through it he left behind on the bolt a piece of his hairy coat; and through the hole which was made in his coat Snow-White fancied she saw the glittering of gold; but she was not quite certain of it. The bear, however, ran hastily away, and was soon hidden behind the trees.

Some time afterward the mother sent the children into the wood to gather sticks; and while doing so, they came to a tree which was lying across the path, on the trunk of which something kept bobbing up and down from the grass, and they could not imagine what it was. When they came nearer they saw a Dwarf, with an old wrinkled face and a snow- white beard a yard long. The end of this beard was fixed in a split of the tree, and the little man kept jumping about like a dog tied by a chain, for he did not know how to free himself. He glared at the maidens with his red fiery eyes, and exclaimed, "Why do you stand there? are you going to pass without offering me any assistance?"

"What have you done, little man?" asked Rose-R.E.D..

"You stupid, gaping goose!" he exclaimed. "I wanted to have split the tree, in order to get a little wood for my kitchen, for the little wood which we use is soon burned up with great fagots, not like what you rough, greedy people devour! I had driven the wedge in properly, and everything was going on well, when the smooth wood flew upward, and the tree closed so suddenly together that I could not draw my beautiful beard out, and here it sticks and I cannot get away. There, don't laugh, you milk- faced things! Are you dumfounded?"

The children took all the pains they could to pull the Dwarf's beard out; but without success. "I will run and fetch some help," cried Rose-R.E.D. at length.

"Crack-brained sheep's head that you are!" snarled the Dwarf; "what are you going to call other people for? You are two too many now for me; can you think of nothing else?"

"Don't be impatient," replied Snow-White; "I have thought of something;" and pulling her scissors out of her pocket she cut off the end of the beard. As soon as the Dwarf found himself at liberty, he snatched up his sack, which lay between the roots of the tree, filled with gold, and throwing it over his shoulder marched off, grumbling and groaning and crying: "Stupid people! to cut off a piece of my beautiful beard. Plague take you!" and away he went without once looking at the children.

Some time afterward Snow-White and Rose-R.E.D. went a-fishing, and as they neared the pond they saw something like a great locust hopping about on the bank, as if going to jump into the water. They ran up and recognized the Dwarf. "What are you after?" asked Rose-R.E.D.; "you will fall into the water."

"I am not quite such a simpleton as that," replied the Dwarf: "but do you not see this fish will pull me in?" The little man had been sitting there angling, and unfortunately the wind had entangled his beard with the fishing line; and so, when a great fish bit at the bait, the strength of the weak little fellow was not able to draw it out, and the fish had the best of the struggle. The Dwarf held on by the reeds and rushes which grew near; but to no purpose, for the fish pulled him where it liked, and he must soon have been drawn into the pond. Luckily just then the two maidens arrived, and tried to release the beard of the Dwarf from the fishing line; but both were too closely entangled for it to be done. So the Maiden pulled out her scissors again and cut off another piece of the beard.

When the Dwarf saw this done he was in a great rage, and exclaimed: "You donkey! That is the way to disfigure my face. Was it not enough to cut it once, but you must now take away the best part of my fine beard? I dare not show myself again now to my own people. I wish you had run the soles off your boots before you had come here!" So saying, he took up a bag of pearls which lay among the rushes, and without speaking another word, slipped off and disappeared behind a stone.

Not many days after this adventure, it chanced that the mother sent the two maidens to the next town to buy thread, needles and pins, laces and ribbons. Their road passed over a common, on which here and there great pieces of rock were lying about. Just over their heads they saw a great bird flying round and round, and every now and then, dropping lower and lower, till at last it flew down behind a rock. Immediately afterward they heard a piercing shriek, and running up they saw with affright that the eagle had caught their old acquaintance, the Dwarf, and was trying to carry him off. The compassionate children thereupon laid hold of the little man, and held him fast till the bird gave up the struggle and flew off.

As soon then as the Dwarf had recovered from his fright, he exclaimed in his squeaking voice: "Could you not hold me more gently? You have seized my fine brown coat in such a manner that it is all torn and full of holes, meddling and interfering rubbish that you are!" With these words he shouldered a bag filled with precious stones, and slipped away to his cave among the rocks.

The maidens were now accustomed to his ingratitude, and so they walked on to the town and transacted their business there. Coming home, they returned over the same common, and unawares walked up to a certain clean spot on which the Dwarf had shaken out his bag of precious stones, thinking nobody was near. The sun was shining, and the bright stones glittered in its beams and displayed such a variety of colors that the two maidens stopped to admire them.

"What are you standing there gaping for?" asked the Dwarf, while his face grew as red as copper with rage; he was continuing to abuse the poor maidens, when a loud roaring noise was heard, and presently a great black bear came rolling out of the forest. The Dwarf jumped up terrified, but he could not gain his retreat before the bear overtook him. Thereupon, he cried out: "Spare me, my dear Lord Bear! I will give you all my treasures. See these beautiful precious stones which lie here; only give me my life; for what have you to fear from a little weak fellow like me? You could not touch me with your big teeth. There are two wicked girls, take them; they would make nice morsels, as fat as young quails; eat them for heaven's sake."

The bear, however, without troubling himself to speak, gave the bad- hearted Dwarf a single blow with his paw, and he never stirred after.

The maidens were then going to run away, but the bear called after them: "Snow-White and Rose-R.E.D., fear not! Wait a bit and I will accompany you."

They recognized his voice and stopped; and when the Bear came, his rough coat suddenly fell off, and he stood up a tall man, dressed entirely in gold. "I am a king's son," he said, "and was condemned by the wicked Dwarf, who stole all my treasures, to wander about in this forest, in the form of a bear, till his death released me. Now he has received his well-deserved punishment."

Then they went home, and Snow-White was married to the prince, and Rose-R.E.D. to his brother, with whom they shared the immense treasure which the Dwarf had collected. The old mother also lived for many years happily with her two children, and the rose trees which had stood before the cottage were planted now before the palace, and produced every year beautiful red and white roses.

_**The Cast**_

_**Snow-White: Annabeth Chase**_

_**Rose-R.E.D.: Rachel Elizabeth Dare**_

_**Bear/Prince: Percy Jackson**_

_**Mother: Sally Jackson**_

_**Prince's Brother: Tyson**_

_**Dwarf: Nico di Angelo (Just kidding, Nico lovers!) Kronos**_


End file.
